Bible Lexicons

ἀσπάζομαι ,

depon.,

[in LXX: Ezekiel 18:7, Judges 18:15 (H7965 H7592), Ezra 5:2, 1 Maccabees 7:29, al.;]

to welcome, greet, salute: c. acc pers., Matthew 5:47, Mark 9:15, Acts 21:7, al.; id. seq. ἐν φιλήματι , Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26, 1 Peter 5:14; τ . ἐκκλησίαν (Deiss., BS, 257), Acts 18:22; as term. tech. for conveying greetings at the end of a letter (MM, s.v.), used by an amanuensis (Milligan, NTD, 23), Romans 16:22 (on the aoristic Pres., here and elsewhere, v. M, Pr., 119; Bl., § 56, 4); κατήντησαν . . . ἀσπασάμενοι (on this constr., v. El., § 58, 4; M, Pr., 132, 238), Acts 25:13 (cf. ἀπ -ἀπ -ασπάζομαι ).†

**† ἀπ -ασπάζομαι ,

depon.,

[in LXX: Tob 10:13 א *;]

to take leave of: c. acc: Acts 21:6.†

The papyri have shown conclusively that this common NT word was the regular term. tech. for conveying the greetings at the end of a letter. Examples are BGU IV. 1079.33f. (A.D. 41) (= Selections, p. 40) ἀσπάζου Διόδωρον μ [ετ᾽ ἄλων (l. ἄλλων ) . . . ἀσπάζου Ἁρποχράτη [ν ], ib. II. 423.18ff. (ii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 91) ἄσπασαι Καπίτων [α πο ]λλὰ καὶ το [ὺς ] ἀδελφούς [μ ]ου καὶ Σε [ρήνι ]λλαν καὶ το [ὺς ] φίλους [μ ]ου , etc. As showing how much the absence of these greetings was felt, we may quote P Giss I. 78.7 (ii/A.D.) ἡ μικρά μου Ἡραιδ [ο ]ῦς γράφουσα τῶι πατρὶ ἐμὲ ο ̣ὐκ ἀσ ̣π ̣άζεται κ [α ]ι ̣̣ διὰ τί οὐκ ο ̣ι ̣͂̔δα , and P Grenf I. 53.8 ff. (iv/A.D.) Ἀλ ̣λ ̣οῦς πολλά σοι ἀπειλ (εῖ ), ἐπὶ γὰρ πολλάκις γράψας καὶ πάντας ἀσπασάμενος αὐτὴν μόνον οὐκ ἠσπάσου . The use of the 1st pers. ἀσπάζομαι by Tertius in Romans 16:21, the only ex. of this exact formula in the NT, may be paralleled from P Oxy VII. 1067.25 (iii/A.D.) where to a letter from a certain Helene to her brother, their father Alexander adds the postscript—κἀγὼ Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ π [α ]τὴρ ὑμῶν ἀσπάζομαι ὑμᾶς πολλά . (As there is no change of hand, both Helene and her father would seem to have employed an amanuensis : see the editor’s note). When several persons are included in a greeting, the phrase κατ᾽ ὄνομα often occurs (as in 3 Jn.15) e.g. BGU I. 276.25 f. (ii/iii A.D.) ἀσπάζομαι ὑμᾶς πάντες κατ᾽ ὄνομ (α ), καὶ Ὠριγ [έ ]νης ὑμᾶς ἀσπάζεται πάντες , P Oxy III. 533.27f. (ii/iii A.D.) ἀσπάσασθε τὸν μεικρὸν Σερῆνον καὶ Κοπρέα καὶ το [ὺ ]ς ἡμῶν πάντας κατ᾽ ὄνομα . Add P Fay 118.25 (A.D. 110) ἀσπάζου τοὺς φιλοῦντές σε πάντες πρὸς ἀλήθιαν (cf. 2 John 1:1, 3 John 1:1) and the Christian Psenosiris letter P Grenf II. 73.4 ff. (late iii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 117) where immediately after the address we find πρὸ τῶν ὅλων πολλά σε ἀσπάζομαι καὶ τοὺς παρὰ σοὶ πάντας ἀδελφοὺς ἐν Θ (ε )ῷ .

For ἀ . = ";pay one’s respects to,"; as in Acts 25:13, see BGU I. 376i. 3 (A.D. 171) ἠσπάσατ ̣ο ̣ τὸν λαμπρότατον ἡγ [εμό ]να , and ib. 248.12 (ii/A.D.) θεῶν δὲ βουλομένων πάν [τ ]ως μετὰ τὰ Σουχεῖα σὲ ἀσπάσομαι (cited by Deissmann, BS p. 257), and from the inscriptions OGIS 219.43 (iii/B.C.) ἀσπασάμενοι αὐτὸν παρὰ τ [οῦ δήμου ], Syll 318.41 (B.C. 118) a deputation is sent οἵτινες πορευθέντες πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἀσπασάμενοι παρὰ τῆς πόλεως καὶ συνχαρέντες ἐπὶ τῶι ὑγιαίνειν αὐτόν τε καὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον κτλ .

 

 

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